There are bodies littering the warehouse where Jonathan Sands works.

And, yes, the place is rather sinister.

But the police are unlikely to be knocking on his door.

For Jonathan's company is nothing more than home to a massive selection of film props - and you're just as likely to come across a giant alien as you are a 'fake' corpse last used in some horror film.

Among the more disturbing treasures in its archives are the 15ft-long Alien Queen from Aliens, mutilated corpses from Event Horizon and the werewolves from cult Brit-flick Dog Soldiers.

It's also home to the entire Star Wars vehicle fleet.

Jonathan, managing director of Weird and Wonderful, is just one the guests who will be appearing at the second Fantastic Films Weekend at the National Museum of Photogra-phy, Film and Television on May 24 and 25.

The weekend will feature an impressive selection of sci-fi and horror films as well as other cult classics.

The programme will include special previews of Fear-DotCom and Cypher, classics including The Incredible Shrinking Man and The Day the Earth Stood Still, the original version of Solaris and Planet of the Apes, plus an all-day Aliens fright-fest.

Jonathan will be accompanied on his visit to the city by one or two of the props he's collected over the years, including a 7ft Dog Soldier from the film starring Sean Pertwee, and will be talking about the company's work.

"We've been around for about 12 years. People know they can ask us for anything they want," said Jonathan.

"We might get a call asking for a dismembered leg and it will have to be a certain colour, cut off in a certain place but we can supply it.

"We've got all the props from when they made The Borrowers - outsize stuff which was used to give the characters proportion, everything from 6ft Colman's mustard tin to a 12ft paintbrush.

"We're also home to the entire Star Wars vehicle fleet. We're talking vehicles spanning 30 feet."

Surprisingly, many of the props which Jonathan now cares for would have been thrown away had it not been for his company.

"I usually spend half the week on film sets talking to designers to see what we can use," he said.

"Often, 90 per cent of the stuff that it is used on film sets is scrapped - and we're talking about millions of pounds worth of stuff.

"We come along with a truck, load the stuff up and bring it back to our warehouse.

"We start looking at what we can use for window displays for film promotions and start to put together proposals about how it can be used - in reality, we're a bit like Steptoe and Son."

Special effects guru Bob Keen, who worked on Dungeons and Dragons, Hellraiser and Dog Soliders, will also be giving a talk during the weekend.

Bob designed the werewolves used in Dog Soldiers and has worked on everything from Star Wars to Alien as a model maker and special effects designer.

Episodes of The Prisoner, Adam Adamant and other cult classics will be on show in the TV Heaven gallery and the Hammer Films special effects collection will be on display.

A spokesman for the museum said: "The response to this has been really good. There are lots of people who like fantastic films - everything from horror to sci-fi to the macabre, everything from Sherlock Holmes to Alien."

Further information about the weekend can be obtained from the museum on (01274) 200300 or www.nmpft.org.uk